November 29, 2012

My forensic anthropology class has begun presenting their final projects. So this week, we got treated to a bunch of experimental sharp/blunt/ballistics trauma (on pigs), a re-creation of the mouse-in-the-MtDew-can case (spoiler: the animal in the water decomposed faster than the one in the Dew), a presentation on one of the historically black cemeteries in town, and a facial reconstruction. I was surprised at this last one, as I've given this assignment a few times in the past, and no one's ever taken me up on the challenge to do facial reconstruction from clay. But my student Kristi did, and this is her process and result. We were all pretty impressed, particularly because it's a fake skull (and thus doesn't exactly conform to normal cranial morphology). Even better: it's my fake skull, so Kristi let me keep the result. It's creepily staring at me from a bookshelf in my office.

Forensics presentations are my favorite part of the semester. Can't wait to see what they all come up with next week!

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is a bioarchaeologist and assistant professor at the University of West Florida. This is her personal blog about archaeology, bioanthropology, and the classical world. Follow her on Twitter (@DrKillgrove) or G+, or follow PbO on Facebook.